Swiped on Hulu charts Whitney Wolfe Herd’s rise from Tinder to Bumble amid harassment and a toxic tech culture

Swiped, a Hulu original film, dramatizes the rise of Tinder through the experiences of Whitney Wolfe Herd, the app’s co-founder who later started Bumble to reframe dating culture. The film examines Wolfe’s journey from a startup incubator to a powerhouse in tech, highlighting years of harassment, a toxic workplace, and a pivotal choice to build a platform centered on safety and consent. While the movie positions Wolfe as a catalyst for change in online dating, it also portrays the personal and professional costs of challenging an industry dominated by male power players. The release comes as part of a broader cultural conversation about gender, leadership, and accountability in tech.

Set in 2012, Swiped follows Wolfe as she pursues an app concept she believes can connect people with a social mission, only to be repeatedly interrupted by male colleagues who dismiss her ideas. Sean Rad, who runs Hatch Labs, recognizes potential in Wolfe and brings her on as marketing director, helping to launch Tinder. Within a short span, the app becomes a cultural touchstone, with millions of users swiping right or left. The film portrays the era’s online clutter and the darker underbelly of dating culture, including unsolicited explicit messages that flood users’ inboxes. Wolfe’s struggle to address harassment on the platform—and within the company—permeates the story, as Rad and others brush aside her concerns.

During this period Wolfe begins a romantic relationship with Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen, a relationship that initially appears charming but soon reveals controlling, jealous dynamics. The pressure of building a fast-growing company amplifies the emotional toll, and Wolfe’s experiences of harassment—both online and in the workplace—are central to the narrative. The film depicts a moment when Wolfe must decide whether to stay within a system that silences or marginalizes her or to step away and reinvent the model from the outside. Her decision to resign culminates in an NDA that limits what she can publicly discuss about her Tinder years, a constraint the film acknowledges as a real obstacle to telling the full story.

When Wolfe’s public profile diminishes due to leaks of her complaints, the film shifts toward a new chapter: a collaboration with Russian tech entrepreneur Andrey Andreev, founder of Badoo, who funds Wolfe’s next venture. Wolfe recruits former Tinder colleagues, including a character named Tisha who serves as her conscience and helps push back against the toxicity she once faced. The group develops Bumble, an app designed so that women initiate contact and with a no-harassment policy at its core. The narrative frames Bumble as not just a business pivot but a rejection of the misogyny Wolfe encountered at Tinder.

As Andreev’s influence begins to surface as a complication—Andreev’s own Badoo culture comes under scrutiny for racism and misogyny—Tisha urges Wolfe to publicly confront the problems. Wolfe ultimately speaks out, a turning point that leads to a complicated but transformative partnership and, in due course, Wolfe’s leadership role at Bumble. The film culminates with Wolfe positioned as CEO of Bumble and Badoo after a buyout, marking what the film presents as a historic ascent: the youngest woman to take a company public and a signal moment in women-led tech entrepreneurship.

Cast members include Lily James as Whitney Wolfe Herd, Jackson White as Justin Mateen, Dan Stevens as Andrey Andreev, Myha’la as Tisha, Mary Neely as Beth, Dermot Mulroney as Matthew Slate, and others such as Joely Fisher, Michael Nouri, Dan Bakkedahl, Lennon Parham, Clea DuVall, and a supporting lineup that fills out the high-stakes world of venture capital and startup culture. The performances aim to capture both the charisma and the volatility of tech entrepreneurship in a male-dominated environment, with Wolfe’s arc presented as a blend of resilience, idealism, and practical savvy.

From a storytelling perspective, Swiped confronts the familiar terrain of startup cinema while attempting a more feminist angle. Critics note that the film situates Wolfe’s experiences within the context of broader social movements, including #MeToo, and frame her pivot to Bumble as a response to a culture that often tolerated abuse in the pursuit of rapid growth. The narrative emphasizes Wolfe’s aspiration to create a safer, more respectful online space and acknowledges the complex choices she made along the way. At the same time, reviewers describe the film as uneven in tone, veering between inspirational biopic and darker, more intimate drama.

The portrayal of key moments—Wolfe’s early struggles to be heard, the private pain of her relationship with Mateen, the NDA that shrouds her Tinder years, and the public reckoning that accelerates Bumble’s rise—are anchored by moments of candor, including a line that has lingered in discussions of the film: “Most of the online experience is pretty fucking shitty for women.” The line underscores a central premise: the internet’s dating landscape has long been shaped by gendered power dynamics, and Wolfe’s response—building a platform designed to resist harassment—represents a deliberate attempt to change the rules.

The film’s depiction of Andrey Andreev, with Dan Stevens portraying the Russian entrepreneur, has drawn mixed reactions. Critics point to moments where Stevens’ performance leans toward caricature, potentially undercutting the film’s more serious aims. Still, Swiped uses these dynamics to illuminate the broader tension between founders and investors, and the ways in which power can be exercised—intentionally or otherwise—in the tech industry. The supporting ensemble, including Dermot Mulroney’s investor character who arrives late in the story, adds texture to a narrative that often centers on Wolfe’s perspective and choices.

Swiped is available to stream exclusively on Hulu. The film situates itself within a culture and entertainment landscape that has increasingly valued insider perspectives on tech origin stories, from the boardroom drama of social networks to the personal stakes behind groundbreaking apps. While the film may not resolve every tension or perfectly calibrate its tonal shifts, it provides a window into how a young woman navigated harassment and gendered obstacles to redefine dating culture through Bumble.

The story presented in Swiped draws on public records and widely documented events, while acknowledging that Wolfe signed an NDA that limits certain details about Tinder’s early years. Viewers should approach the film as a dramatization that amplifies real-world events and public histories, offering a lens on how personal experience intersects with broader cultural movements. The movie’s ultimate message—that leadership can arise from confronting toxicity and building inclusive platforms—resonates with ongoing conversations about women’s leadership in tech and the responsibility companies have to create safer environments for employees and users alike.